“We wanna challenge ourselves”: Dawn Staley aims for long-term progress for South Carolina after win over NC State
South Carolina coach Dawn Staley is looking for long-term progress for the top-ranked Gamecocks after their 71-57 win over then-No.9 NC State on Monday, November 11. The current NCAA champions extended their win streak to 40 games.
The Wolfpack attempted a comeback with a 12-4 scoring run to cut the lead down to seven with 4:38 remaining, but Te-Hina Paopao sealed the deal by scoring seven points to secure a 14-point win.
Paopao finished with 23 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals to lead all scorers. MiLaysia Fulwiley was the spark off the bench, notching 18 points and three rebounds as the second-leading scorer for the Gamecocks. Zamareya Jones had the highest output for NC State, tallying 16 points and two assists.
The Gamecocks captured their second win of the season, following their 68-62 win against Michigan. Despite not putting numerous points on the board like their exhibition wins against Memphis (106-63) and Clayton State (126-42), Staley praised the team's defensive effort as the key to the victory:
"That's why we put the schedule together the way that we did is because we wanna challenge ourselves," Staley said in the postgame interview. "It may end up in a loss somewhere down the line or two, but we're working towards playing in March and April in November and December."
For their November schedule, the Gamecocks host Coppin State (Thursday) and East Carolina (Sunday) before facing rival Clemson (Nov. 20), No. 5 UCLA (Nov. 24), No. 8 Iowa State (Nov. 28), Purdue (Nov. 30), and No. 16 Duke (Dec. 6).
South Carolina looks to repeat an undefeated season and NCAA championship
As the current NCAA Division I Women's Basketball champions, the South Carolina Gamecocks are looking to retain the title and capture their second championship in a row, which would be their third since 2022 and their fourth in the program's history.
Currently ranked as the best team in women's basketball in the nation, the Gamecocks will also try to preserve their winning streak. Although they are still a long way to go to reach the 126-regular season win streak set by the UConn Huskies from 2014 to 2019, the Gamecocks could set themselves up for a run at the record.
Despite Kamilla Cardoso's departure to the WNBA's Chicago Sky, the Gamecocks still boast a solid core of players.
Chloe Kitts and Joyce Edwards make up for a solid frontcourt while Tessa Johnson, Te-Hina Paopao and MiLaysia Fulwiley present a formidable guard rotation.